Open Letter to John Shepard
by Admiral Zaal'Koris
Summary: Eight years after the events of Mass Effect, a man requires some advice from Shepard. MShep/Tali. Three part.
1. Chapter 1

**So, this is just a short, sweet, little thing I wrote, just because. I hope you enjoy it! (It'll be 3 parts, probably released all within a day of one another.)**

April 12th, 2193

To: John Shepard

* * *

Your story is renowned throughout the galaxy,

Savior of the Council,

Destroyer of the Reapers,

Soldier of peace,

Beater of impossible odds.

But, will you spare this a second glance?

.

I do not wish to interview you about your mission,

Which I have heard so many times,

I wish to ask for advice,

Advice about love,

how you and she managed discover it,

in the midst of War,

And to see if it could offer me any respite for my own dilemma.

.

Did you pepper her with glances of affection while her head was turned?

Did she embrace you warmly when she found out you were alive?

Did she look to you for guidance when her father was killed?

Did you hold her close and confort her while arduously trekking the final leg of your journey to fight the Collectors, together?

Did you whisper tenderly in her uncovered ear, "I love you," as you laid in bed with one another after you both survived?

.

Did you fight for her?

A chance to see her again?

A chance to share your love with her once more?

Did you stare into each other's eyes when you met, yet again?

Did you relish in her company before attacking the Cerberus base?

.

When the battle for Earth,

Your crowning achievement,

As well as your terrible curse,

Reared its ugly head,

Was she right there beside you?

Strengthened by your fortitude,

And boundless affection for her?

.

What did you say to her after her injury?

Did you look her in the eyes and tell her that this was the only way?

As you called the Normandy down,

And saw it blink off in the distance,

Did a tear glisten down your cheek?

Knowing that might be the last time you'd ever see her?

.

As you made your final decision,

were your last thoughts of her,

The love you and she shared?

.

Oh what joy must've spread across her face,

As you,

The valiant savior,

The destined soldier,

Her passionate lover,

Returned back to her,

Alive and well,

And met one another in a ecstatic embrace.

.

You loved Tali'Zorah vas Normandy with all of your heart.

She was not even a member of your own species,

She was of a species which was disregarded in stature and disrespected by the rest of the galaxy,

A species which could die from a single kiss bestowed,

A species which you did not even know the physical appearance of until much later,

Yet, love her you did.

.

Now, I require some advice,

I think you will find that we're both in a very similar situation that you were in eight years ago,

And that you are still in today.

Inside your lovely home on Rannoch,

With your beautiful wife,

And two adopted children,

My question is, how?

How can I love mine, as you do yours?


	2. Chapter 2: Dilemma

My predicament is this,

I, too, have hopelessly fallen in love with a young Quarian,

Hear me out,

I live on Rannoch as an Engineer,

As well as the person of which my affections are directed at,

helping to rebuild their fallen cities,

And return them to their lost grandeur,

My heart still beats for her as I write this.

.

I remember how we talk to one another while we work together,

Toiling in the heat of Kaeli'Steiz,

Her giggle resonates through my entire head,

Her playful manner fills me with joy,

so abundant, that sometimes I end up crying from laughter,

Her motherly, caring manner always cheers me up when I am cut low,

Even though,

I sometimes catch her gazing at me discreetly,

Before quickly turning away,

Realizing that I had noticed,

But, this only serves to puzzle me further!

.

I have loved her like this for a year,

My emotions for her,

bottled up inside like a raging current,

swirling constantly like the sea.

.

I needed to tell somebody about her,

How I felt for her,

If not, I might've combusted from the explosive secret I was guarding,

Kept under lock and key at all times,

Stationed with guards at every exit,

Of which, I was the warden.

.

I told my family,

Namely my Mother and Father,

and eagerly awaited their response.

.

The response I had been eagerly awaiting,

Was one of alarm.

Many a person still feels hostility towards Quarians.

I realized from that message,

that my parents were the same.

.

They called her a, "Forbidden Fruit,"

And, without a single thought of consideration,

proceeded to slander her race.

They called my love unnatural,

That I should find a women with whom I could bear children with,

A Human woman.

.

I furrowed my brow in anger as I read the message,

If it were a letter,

And not an email,

I would've crumpled up the letter, and if possible, lob the parchment into a fire,

I did the next best thing,

Simply erased it,

Never to be seen by my eyes again.

.

They just don't understand,

I don't want anyone else,

Be it Human, Quarian, or any other race,

I want her.

I've found the woman with whom I wish to spend the rest of my life with,

Why should it matter what race she is?

Or whether we are capable of reproduction?

I love her.

.

I love her,

She is my North Star,

My internal compass points to her and only her.

.

I love her,

She is a precious jewel,

trapped inside a stone of metal and cloth.

.

I love her,

She is the light at the end of my tunnel.

The sun which lights my sky.

.

I love her so much.

What am I to do?!

.

Signed,

Karl


End file.
